Jimmy Kimmel cried on national TV about this lion. Only every single other issue facing the world right now is more important than 1 guy killing the wrong lion. Maybe if we all cried about it everything would get better.
Poaching is a much bigger problem than conservation/trophy hunting fuck-ups, and yet the outrage only bubbles over when we can point at a rich white dude who flew over there and killed something. Do people care more about self-righteous finger pointing, or about the actual issue? Why doesn't the ongoing, illegal, poaching make Jimmy Kimmel cry every week? Just to be clear, I'm not excusing what this guy did. He killed a lion illegally, and that's bad, so he should be punished. But the over-the-top outrage on this side of the world is just silly.
I think the real lesson learned here in the end is "stop giving guns and badges to psychotic chickenshits.". I mean Christ, the cop who killed Tamir Rice, Tim Loemann, was kicked out of a previous police department because he went off on an actual crying jag during a routine firearms exercise over a fight with his girlfriend. Cleveland didn't even bother reading this, which any retard would consider EXTREMELY important. It seems too many places will hire you as a cop if you're too stupid to work in the fast food industry.
Really, he's just reacting to what is trending in social media. His is a pop culture show, not a news show, so he's going to address what his demographic is immersed in. It's not like he went out and picked up the story all on his own. In this case, that subject was one that he had a serious message about.
OH, fuck off already. He's not a psychotic chickenshit, so don't call him one. This is the serious thread... keep your overblown hyperbole to the drunk thread.
This big-game hunting shit seems to be an outdated male impulse that simply needs to die. Regardless of the technicalities of conservation, the time for killing lions as a hobby is over. There's too many rich fuck-nuggets and not enough lions. Hunt something there are millions of (like deer), or learn to bullfight. I would like to go hunt some of the larger and scarier things in North America (elk, bear, moose, etc) but hunting an endangered species is....well, it might have something to do with them being fucking endangered, don't you think? For me, the issue isn't that Cecil the Lion is dead, it's that some twat-waffle dentist thought it would be cool to shoot one in the first place.
Yeah but that's exactly what I'm saying I don't like - the pop media/culture knee jerk emotional reaction, of which that video is a perfect example. Go to 2:15. Jimmy reads a statement by the hunter saying he trusted his guides, and didn't realize what he was doing was illegal. Then Jimmy says "Ok, now let's assume that's true..." But then what does he say next? He says hunting lions is a cowardly piece of shit thing to do anyway and that the guy's dick probably doesn't work, so fuck him, who cares if he had 100% intentions of keeping the hunt legal and it was totally the guide's fault. I can't respect that train of thought. The whole narrative revolves around the idea that conservation hunting is an oxymoron, and that anyone who does it is automatically guilty of whatever they're being accused of. These people pay huge amounts of money so that they're allowed to kill a poor endangered animal, and it's all corrupt and evil. Well, it's fucking not, but nobody gives a shit about any of that. (Departing from this story specifically) Sometimes a lion or a rhino or an elephant has to go, because they pose a threat to the animals or humans around them. Selling the right to hunt these animals creates a monetary value in keeping the population alive and healthy (so there will regularly be a few here and there that need to go), and can absolutely help protect the overall population. If you don't think people should want to hunt them, ok, but don't bury your head in the sand and pretend that this isn't a legitimate method of conservation. Kind of what I'm talking about, posted while I was writing: I'll talk about the example I'm a little better informed on, the guy who shot the black rhino in Africa a while back and caught all kinds of shit for it. People immediately assume he paid $350,000 in a "pleeease can I kill just ONE endangered rhino!" kind of way, but that is simply not true. This specific rhino was an older male, who was past breeding age. He was very aggressive, and had killed younger (breeding) rhinos before. Killing that rhino seems like a legitimate conservation method to me. And, rather than having some local ranger do it, why not make $350,000 off of it? That money can be used for park upkeep, fighting poachers, etc. (And it is being used for that, apparently the regulations are quite strict about that money going to the right places.) Does that not seem like a reasonable arrangement? Even if you disagree with people wanting to go on hunts like that, to me it's like a billionaire opening a soup kitchen because it will somehow lower his taxes. Maybe you don't disagree with their motivation, but you have to admit that the thing they're doing is still helping. Now yes, in this lion case, he shot the wrong lion. That's bad. But to write off this kind of hunting across-the-board is not fair.
You don't understand how conservation works. Statements like this stem from impulses of your own because you're sad a furry, majestic animal died. This guy is a prick, no doubt. But the conservation effort is much more complex than just paying lots of money and shooting a big cat in the face.
Watching it I thought it was way too chaotic at the moment of the shooting for them to be so certain they have him dead to rights. Certainly was not as clear cut as the SC officer shooting that guy in the back or Tamir Rice. It feels like someone had enormous pressure on Joe Deters (county prosecutor), the head of UC's police, and Santa Ono from the statements they made from night one. Last time Cincinnati rioted I was in 7th grade. Would be a shame if they destroyed all of the progress that's been made in OTR.
I get that conservation is complicated. I am saying that it's not helped by a group of rich, white guys who have an unnatural and generally useless desire to pay gobs of money in poor African countries to shoot endangered things. If this dude didn't fork over $55,000 (which is a ludicrously princely sum to an African park ranger) and the lion was in fact a danger, then the rangers would have stepped in. Let's not pretend there's a vacuum being filled by American dentists with elephant guns in the Kalahari. Their money makes a lot of conservation efforts possible, but it's the same money that makes poaching (and to some extent, illegal organ harvesting) appealing. My point is that there are better ways to get some bitches to check out your Instagram, shooting endangered things is logically a bad idea (the big, bad, dangerous male lions can't be dealt with by putting them in zoo, or a new territory, etc.?), and this guy is contributing to the problems in this situation. Let's be real, he's hunting after a shower, a ride in a Land Rover, with a full belly and has an air conditioned hotel room awaiting him. He's shooting a lion with the same amount of effort he puts into buying a fucking Subaru. No one would call it poaching if he had been left out there for four days alone....Like I said, learn to fucking bullfight or hunt something with a population that needs to be kept in check. Big game hunting is a sham that needs to end.
I can respect that train of thought... it's "so what if it's legal, doesn't make it acceptable". The way that they dragged the bait to lure the lion out of the area of protection and then shot it with an arrow at close range, wounding it, having to track it for 40 hours... sure, that might have been legal, but not right. The parts that he was involved in would have left a bad taste in an ethical hunter's mouth, at least mine. King of the Hill covered it well: http://kingofthehill.wikia.com/wiki/Good_Hill_Hunting As much as I don't agree with what the guy did, or how he trophy hunts (always with a bow, it seems), I don't believe he deserves to be the focus of all of this attention.
Hunting is so nuanced that I think it's impossible to have an opinion on it, especially in regards to big game hunting, without starting by saying "It depends..." I consider myself a hunter. I think I do things ethically, but there's been a few times I'm sure I've crossed someone's line. When I deer hunt, it's for doe because their meat is better, though I'd probably be doing the wildlife out here a favor if I used all my tags each year for population control. Last season I took my first buck in about 10 years, because he was a beautiful 12 pointer which is hard to come by in an area where an 8 pointer is massive and, frankly, I wanted him on my wall; he tasted good too and I don't have a ping of guilt about not "properly" hunting for him. I shoot hogs because they destroy my place. Once in a while I'll clean and bbq one if it's small enough, but more often than not I leave them in a field and give a thank you to nature's garbage men who clean up all the road kill around here too. Point is, it's easy to take issue with any of that. Just like it's easy to take issue with big game hunting, or keeping the fish you catch, or getting your dog from a puppy mill, or buying your produce anywhere other than local or doing basically anything talked about in "Food Inc." But hell, not everything is black and white and there's always a lot more to the story than ever gets reported. Journalists have word limits to restrict them and readers to appeal to; real life doesn't work that way. Jesus people. Just because there's a gun involved in the story doesn't mean everyone needs to start reacting stupid and making sweeping generalizations.
It seems to me those defending the dentist are missing the point. His hunt had nothing to do with conservation. Given what we know, do you really think this guy is hunting for conservation? That shirtless picture of him with a fucking leopard sure looks like he's being respectful of the life he's taking. I also don't understand the line of reasoning that says "what about all the other bad shit that's happening in the world? Why aren't people outraged by that!" It's subjective and this strikes a chord with people. Doesn't mean that other issues are any less important. The good thing about this "faux outrage," as many put it, is it will bring funding to conservation efforts and hopefully dissuade more people from participating in ridiculous/pointless sport hunting. I think anyone who reads the facts of the black rhino hunt, and is remotely rational, would understand that it was a reasonable thing to do. This guy's a douchebag and would likely hunt humans were it legal.
Given the transgression and the likely total surprise of the perpetrator at the reaction, I can't help but think of this dentist as the white Michael Vick.
I probably went a little overboard with my tone earlier, I didn't mean to make this guy personally sound like some conservation hero. But those hunts do have to do with conservation, that's the thing that people miss. Regulated hunting has been very successful at protecting various endangered animals and even growing their populations, as it incentivizes people to protect them. It's counter intuitive, but it's true. I guess what I'm really trying to defend is big game hunting as a legitimate means of conservation, and not so much this dentist guy himself. To be fair, apparently lions have been the one species that regulated hunting has not been successful in helping. Still, because it's been so successful with other animals, some experts think it should be regulated and monitored better, rather than abandoned all together. http://www.vox.com/2015/7/29/9069795/cecil-the-lion-hunting
Yes, I know. Doesn't change my point. Frankly, as I said, I get that all of this funds some conservation and, when done properly, is often done to remove animals that are otherwise going to be removed from the population. The fact that this particular guy killed the wrong animal has nothing to do with that, and I like seeing that money funneled into conservation. I'm not arguing for legal, permitted and carefully regulated big game hunting to be banned. I just can't relate to the desire to do it, and think that hunting huge animals that aren't scared of people and generally don't demonstrate any reclusive behavior seems like a pretty poor test of skills.
Its much more holistic than just shooting something. When I go hunting, if I dont get my target right away, its upsetting. The last thing I want is anything to needlessly suffer. Absent of that, its a much more humane way for the animal to die and a far cleaner way for me to get meat. Last year my group took down a cow moose and we had the meat for months. Bottom line is, any animal that isnt an apex predator is on the food chain any way. They are better off being shot in the head by me than being taken down by a mountain lion, or a pack of coyotes, or being picked at by carrion birds if they get injured. Its a little hokey to say that I feel more connected to the animal during a hunt, but its true. I appreciate what I am eating so much more than if I just go to the store and buy a pack of steaks. Those animals are kept in captivity their entire lives, in many cases under poor conditions, and many suffer during their slaughter. When I can, I try and avoid that. As far as hunting large game purely for sport, I did it twice. First time we didn't get anything, second time we did. I didnt really find the process enjoyable. Although I knew the ends justified the means and there was good justification for it, it still felt like pointless slaughter. I know your not attacking hunting or big game hunting, Im just giving perspective from a hunter's side.
I think this is why most people are getting upset over this. This particular act seems like pointless slaughter to boost this guys ego. The saddest part is that it shouldn't boost his ego. As many have said the way he went about getting his kill involved no skill or bravery on his part. I understand hunting big game for conservation purposes, but it's hard for me to wrap my head around why some one would want to hunt these animals like this.